Witty Scribble

"What are you guys doing tonight? Any plans?", I queried my ex-roommates. "I am completely free. Have nothing to do. Will be just watching some TV series over the laptop", replied Aman, in his inimitable style: eyes partially closed, hands open and a wide grin on face. "Have you read my latest article on How does a painkiller works I published today? Itna time hai to bhai ka blog hi padh lo", I said with a pinch of anger.  "You write about leap second and I will for sure read your blog."  Quite curious myself to know about Leap second, I took a note of the request and hence I dedicate this blog to my dear friend and ex-roomie Aman.  Leap year. A year that comes once in 4 years. Almost certainly, you all will be aware as to why it happens. Our earth revolves around the sun in 365 days and 6 hours. So after every 4 years, this extra time adds up to 24 hours or typically one full day, which is represented by the addition of Februa...

“Let us be ready at 5 and start for Kukrail picnic spot”, announced my uncle, who is a true morning person. We were visiting our maternal place as our summer vacation routine, and both my uncles relished the Sunday family outing with all of us kids. Kukrail often used to be the obvious choice, being around 7 Km from our place. The boys, all excited about the cricket game at the picnic spot, were always ready on time but the sisters found one or the other excuse to be late. Morning sleep is the first love they say. After the cricket match and breakfast, a walk to the crocodile breeding center at Kukrail followed. As young kids, we were always excited on how the crocodiles spent most of their time doing nothing and hardly ever moved. What a life! We would wish. One thing we always noticed about them was that if one croc moved, all others around it moved as well. We would head back to home after spending few minutes on the swings. A day well started is a day well spent. Kukrail...

"I want to go to Wayanad again. The Milky Way is clearly visible in the pollution free, bright, starry night in this Kerala district during summers", said Rajarshi. We were brainstorming on the weekend getaways near Bengaluru and Rajarshi (or Raj, as we call him) came up with a unique reasoning to visit the hilly area. "I know why you want to go to Wayanad again. You betrayer", Abhirup remarked scornfully. "Bro, you have already seen our galaxy many times. See something new now. Plan for a trip to Finland for Northern lights. Right now, we aren't visiting Wayanad again", I replied. "The northern lights are definitely in my bucket list, but right now, Milky Way is my immediate goal. I will be going, with or without you guys", frowned Raj. Well this blog is about Northern lights. Milk Way will see the light of the day sometime later, probably.😉 Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder". T...

“Saddy!!! Uth jao ab, warna thappad maar denge” (Translation: Get up Saddy, or I will slap you now), shouted Praveen, frustrated of Saddy’s habit of sleeping anytime, anywhere. I was visiting them after they got transferred to Chennai. It was Praveen’s birthday and we planned to go out and enjoy the evening at Thiruvanmiyur beach followed by some road side food. It was a pleasant evening, a rarity in Chennai as told by Praveen and he was in no mood to waste the evening being at home, watching tv and eating pizza: the regular weekend routine of Saddy and Praveen. Saddy was sleeping like a royal and we were getting late for our excursion. “He always does this. Sleeps in the bus, sleeps in cubicle, even sleeps in the food court queue, can you imagine that?”. I could, very well imagine that, because I have witnessed it during our training days in Mysore. Saddy’s super power is to fall asleep anywhere. Sleep is a state of mind. No Rahul Gandhi reference here, it actually is. Or, let ...

A human body is one of the most intricate designs on earth. The innumerable nerves, the super complicated brain, hundreds of muscles and so many other 'masterpieces' form a highly abstruse structure, the human body. Over time, we (read scientists/doctors) have dug deep and gained quite a lot of knowledge on the structure, but still many questions remain unanswered. With the advancements in science, people have got cure for hitherto fatal and life threatening diseases. History is abound with instances of epidemics where people were Quarantined ( Read about 'Quarantine' history here ) to control/limit the disease.  Today, we have a plethora of hospitals and emergency care units for our convenience. Surgical procedures for complex things along with small and innocuous looking tablets, bring one safely out of the danger zone. The compounds that go into making tablet/capsule/solution help fight microbes and restore the body to normalcy. There is one tablet that is us...

I was on a short weekend trip to Bengaluru and got the much-awaited chance to catch up with Prakhar. We went back in time and were narrating all the funny stories of college days to our respective better halves. Meanwhile, a skydiving video played on the TV through youtube autoplay. The skydivers made several formations and held hands while falling freely under gravity. All of us had watched the video umpteen times earlier but it created same thrill every time. The divers continued to perform various stunts like somersaults and vaults like movement while falling before they ultimately opened a parachute which would eventually help them land safely on the ground. Thrilling and safe. Together. Man skydiving with packed parachute Parachutes are one of the simplest yet effective inventions of modern era. Or should I say Renaissance since the oldest evidence of the design of parachutes date back to 15 th century. Parachutes are mostly dome shaped and made of strong and light wei...

What do you think, can anyone survive if he falls in this roaring water?  asked Ayush.  I really don’t think so. People will even fear to walk over the kilometer long bridge over these waters. For normal humans, it is really impossible, but then world has enough people who belong to the League of Extraordinary , Pratyush replied. We were on a trip to Hampi and Tungabhadra Dam was the last point of our itinerary. Standing at the top of the dam, we couldn’t see the end of the reservoir water. The sight of the roaring waves, splashing and hitting the dam wall with full force, was really breath taking. Furious. Fearful. Not once did the river water not look like an ocean, probably owing the water to the good monsoon. The setting sun and the engulfing darkness added to the fear. But truly, there are people who dare to succeed and achieve unimaginable things that others tend not to think even in their dreams. One of these category of people are called Iron Man ! This title ha...